Dark Magus Returns - Chapter 1466: A Cruel Display

Chapter 1466: A Cruel Display

Although Kayzel had heard the words that came from Raze’s mouth, he didn’t quite process them. His mind refused to accept what they meant. To him, the match was still going. He could still channel his magic. He could still draw on his unique trait. His body, battered as it was, could still move.

No one had declared the fight over. No official call of defeat had rung out. That meant there was still a chance, however slim, for him to win.

For him to move like that… that speed can’t come without cost, Kayzel thought frantically, his breath sharp in his chest. He must be consuming enormous amounts of mana. There has to be a weakness. That’s why he’s not using anything but those lightning spells. If I can last long enough, he’ll burn himself out…

With that thought, Kayzel burst to the side, his figure flickering with unnatural speed. But in the very next instant, before he could even plan his counter, Raze materialized right in front of him. Cold fingers gripped his blazer, and then,

WHAM!

Kayzel was hauled up and hurled over Raze’s shoulder. He slammed into the ground, his body bouncing painfully across the floorboards. A groan slipped from his lips, his bones rattling inside him.

But Kayzel was not one to stay down. Teeth gritted, he forced himself to rise. Blood streaked his chin, his muscles screamed in protest, yet his hands thrust forward all the same. The ground beneath them quaked violently, stone and dirt rising like a cresting wave as he tried to smash Raze with the earth itself.

For a heartbeat, the attack seemed solid. But Raze simply lifted his own hands, and two enormous slabs of earth surged upward to block the assault. The rumble died instantly, Kayzel’s effort smothered in seconds. And Raze kept walking toward him, unhurried, unshaken.

Then came the crackle, his feet sparked, lightning crawling over his body. In a blink, he vanished from sight, only to reappear again at Kayzel’s flank. Another vicious grab, another brutal throw. Kayzel hit the ground with a dull, sickening thud.

And again.

And again.

That was the pattern the crowd witnessed: Kayzel lunging, clawing, trying desperately to land a strike, and Raze snatching him up, tossing him aside as if he weighed nothing. No spell of great spectacle, no fiery explosion of power, just relentless, merciless domination.

Kayzel’s body grew heavy, his muscles raw with pain. His lip was split open, blood dripping freely where his face had struck the ground. Each time he forced himself up, his frame wavered, his movements sluggish. His eyes, once blazing with determination, now carried a dull glaze, almost defeated before the final blow had even landed.

And the audience felt it. A shift of unease rippled through the stands. Whispers turned to murmurs, murmurs to questions. What exactly were they watching unfold?

The match should have been decided long ago. Everyone could see that Raze had already won. Yet he never cast the grand spell that would finish things cleanly. Instead, he kept hurling Kayzel over and over, small beatdowns piling into something that looked crueler with each repetition.

Why doesn’t he end it? one thought echoed in the crowd. Why doesn’t he just strike him down properly?

And then, an even darker thought pressed itself into their minds. Why aren’t the referees stopping this?

It was undeniable. Kayzel’s life was not in danger, yet. But only for now. Against any other opponent, against any other student, a decisive spell would have already been unleashed. A single blast of magic could have erased the outcome beyond question.

Or was it something else entirely? Perhaps even the teachers officiating the match, the ones who should have stepped in, were afraid as well. They had seen the speed and power Kayzel had displayed earlier, power beyond what most of them were capable of handling themselves. If they could never hope to stop him, then how were they supposed to stop someone like Raze?

The thought lingered in the air like smoke, thick and heavy.

“I told you already,” Raze’s voice cut through, cold and direct. “You can make this easy, or you can make this hard. You should just give up!”

He hurled Kayzel’s body once again, but this time with a sharper motion, flinging him slightly higher into the air. The extra distance was cruel, because when Kayzel came crashing back down, the pain was worse, rattling through his bones as the floor shuddered beneath him.

For half a second, Kayzel lay flat against the ground, breath knocked from his lungs. But his pride refused to let him stay there. Mana flared once more, just enough for him to force his battered body upright again.

“I can’t… lose,” Kayzel muttered through clenched teeth, his words meant more for himself than anyone else. “Someone of my caliber can’t fall to a nobody like you.”

The crowd’s reactions fractured down the middle. Half of them looked at Raze with unease, thinking the display had turned cruel. The other half questioned why Kayzel still resisted. Why not surrender? Why cling to pride at the expense of his body? Was it stubbornness? Or desperation?

If it had been any other mage, perhaps some might have admired his tenacity, even called it bravery. But this was Kayzel. The memory of what he had done to other students, injecting lightning magic into their cores, still lingered like a bitter taste. Those acts, combined with his arrogance, made it difficult for anyone to see his struggle as anything noble.

Finally, Raze reached him again. With effortless strength, he grabbed Kayzel by the collar and lifted him from the ground, holding him upright like a parent scolding a child.

“Do you even realize?” Raze said, his tone calm but sharp. “I’ve stopped using my own magic skills. I’m not sure you even noticed. Right now, I don’t need spells. I don’t even need to run. I am simply walking toward you, and I can still catch you every single time.”

Kayzel’s chest heaved, sweat dripping down his temple, but Raze continued without mercy.

“The mana you had, it’s gone. Depleted. Even if you wanted to keep fighting, your body wouldn’t let you. Everyone here has seen it. They’ve seen that you’ve already lost. And deep down, you know it too.”

Raze’s eyes narrowed, his grip tightening. “You took the hard path. The painful way out. You had the choice to stop this, but you refused. And you know what? I know what you did to those other students. I know you injected lightning magic into their cores, crippling them. Maybe I should do the same to you. Maybe I should make sure you can never use magic again.”

The words froze the air. The crowd gasped. And then Raze’s gaze drifted, lifting up toward the principal’s viewing area. What was Ibarin doing right now? Why hadn’t he interfered? Surely, he had to be furious with how far this had gone. And yet, he hadn’t moved.

“I… resign.” The words were weak at first, but Kayzel forced them out louder, his pride finally shattering. “I give up. I’ve lost this fight.”

At once, Raze released his grip and let Kayzel’s body fall back to the ground with a dull thud.

“I guess,” Raze muttered, his voice steady as he turned away, “today is not the day I face the Grand Magus.”

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